War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Anthony Lane Although it rouses and overwhelms, it ain't much fun. ... Still, there is much to relish.

Cary Darling With its allusions to Shakespeare, Joseph Conrad, the Bible, American slavery and the civil-rights movement, "War" may not be subtle but it's ultimate proof that summer sequels and blockbusters don't have to be brain-dead bottom-feeders either.

Peter Rainer War for the Planet of the Apes, the third in the rebooted trilogy, is among the best of the series.

Barry Hertz Serkis has invented an entirely new medium of performance - one that pushes the series into a realm that would have blown poor George Taylor's mind even more than a half-buried Lady Liberty.

Adam Graham The best summer blockbuster in years, a smart, thoughtful, confrontational and challenging allegory for a world run amok.

Charles Taylor A consistently intelligent, morally thoughtful and often beautiful picture.

Chris Klimek Suspenseful, mournful, grand, sensitively performed by the ape-actors, and told with such visual authority that whenever the humans start flapping their fancy gums you sort of resent it.

Richard Roeper Serkis is brilliant and memorable and sometimes absolutely heartbreaking as Caesar. The supporting players excel, with each getting a moment or two in the sun.

Joe Morgenstern [War for the Planet of the Apes is] a film that feels newly minted, and daringly conceived on an epic scale. It's as if no one bothered to tell the filmmakers that Hollywood doesn't do grandeur anymore.